Gamescom 2017 Wrap-Up

If you’re a dedicated gamer, you know what August means—it’s Gamescom time. Cologne welcomed companies from all over the globe to celebrate gaming with big on-stage announcements. As usual, World of Tanks rolled out at the massive event, showcasing new content you don’t want to miss. Let’s kick off with the focal points.

Eyes on the Stage

Every big expo gives developers a great chance to meet their players face-to-face and share info on what’s to come.

We eagerly used this opportunity, starting from the very first day, when Artiom Muraska (Publishing Director, EU), Paul Barnett (Deputy Creative Director), and Michael Broek (Product Manager), took to the stage for a deeper look at the changes 9.20 is bringing—Grand Battles, balance updates, Chinese TDs, and more.

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More HD Maps Unveiled

One of the main highlights, however, were HD maps, being one of the main visual updates the team is working on. We introduced six maps over the last several months, and now at Gamescom, we’ve showcased three more: Himmelsdorf, Redshire, and Mountain Pass. All of them have significantly updated their visual fidelity, while being optimized to ensure stable performance on lower-spec PCs.

To demonstrate how World of Tanks will actually look when HD maps are released, the hosts invited tankers from the crowd right on stage for public playtests, while over 10 PCs in the gaming zone welcomed everyone to taste the renovated battlefields.

Hot Topics Discussed

The dialogue spread among all consumer days of the expo, leading to the Player Gathering meetup, where tankers and the devs all joined an open discussion covering some crucial issues the game faces.

Key people from the product team, including Slava Makarov (Product Director), Anton Pankov (Publishing Director), and Milos Jerabek (Development Director) elaborated on the sorer subjects raised by the community and shared their vision on the game's further evolution.

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Action Stars Discovered

There are millions out there who want to be an action star, but only a few can make it to the big screen. We decided to give a chance to anyone thinking they have what it takes to make their first step onto center stage. We offered booth visitors the ultimate challenge: a one-on-one battle with our Tankbassador, Dolph Lundgren, where every rising star would act out four epic combat scenes to release their very own movie trailer.

Victory First

Speaking of Swedes, the renowned heavy metal monsters from Sabaton joined the show and performed a full set right at the expo. The guys, who are famous for their love of war history, turned out to be keen World of Tanks players, so our collaboration was meant to happen sooner or later.

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We didn't stop at a live show and introduced two mutual projects. The first one is the all-new video of their famous Primo Victoria track, featuring an epic tank clash. The video has been in production for over half a year, and we're extremely proud to once again introduce it to you.

The second one is, well, a tank! If you’re a devoted heavy metal fan, love Sabaton in particular, or are an enthusiastic collector of rare tanks, you might be interested in the Primo Victoria, an all-rounder similar to the British vehicles. The whole band is represented as the crew, while the voiceover for Primo Victoria was exclusively recorded by Sabaton’s lead vocalist Joakim Brodén. To emphasize the band’s unity, Primo Victoria’s crew perk “Brothers in Arms” has been renamed “Band of Brothers”, gaining a unique icon.

While this year’s Gamescom is coming to a close, our watch continues. Tons of thanks to the players who came to our booth and supported us during this crazy week, as well as those sharing our passion and pushing us forward. More news will be coming pretty soon, so stay tuned!